1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printing apparatus equipped with a data memory for storing received print data, and more particularly to a printing apparatus for printing received print data or print data read out of a data memory.
2. Description of Related Art
In enterprises or the like, personal computers or work stations have been recently introduced in association with the development of an office automation, and at the same time, these computers or the like are connected to high-speed printers such as laser printers, dot printers or the like through the same cable, whereby desired print data stored in the computers or the like are transmitted, and a print processing can be performed using a desired printer.
In order to enable these printers to perform a data receiving operation for data transmitted from various computers, these printers have been generally so designed that plural kinds of print control programs having different command systems for print control are built in control devices of these printers, and a print control program suitable for the print processing is selectively set from the plural print control programs by manually manipulating an operation panel.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,159, a printing apparatus is described in which a print control program is automatically selectively set from plural print control programs in an automatic selection mode on the basis of received print data. This apparatus is equipped with a storage device for temporarily storing received data.
A printing apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 1-263064 for example, is equipped with a floppy disk device for storing print data transmitted from an external equipment, a print unit and a control unit. In a printing operation, print data is first transmitted from the external equipment, and all the received print data are stored in the floppy disk device. After the storage operation is completed, the print data stored in the floppy disk device is read out and subjected to the printing operation.
There has also been conventionally known a printing apparatus equipped with a printer buffer for storing received print data.
In a case where the storage device for storing the received data as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 1-263064 is provided to the printing apparatus as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,159 in which plural kinds of print control programs having different command systems for print control are built in the control device thereof, and a suitable control program is automatically selected from the plural print control programs in the automatic selection mode on the basis of the received print data, the suitable print control program is automatically set in the automatic selection mode for the received print data. However, when the print data stored in the storage device is read out and printed, a suitable control program must be set by manually manipulating an operation panel because the automatic selection mode is not actuated. In this case, there occurs a problem that if the suitable print control program is not identifiable, the stored print data may not be accurately printed.